Epilogue, Plan B
by lkuecrar
Summary: This is how I think the series should have ended, regarding Hermione and Draco. It was inspired after I read that J.K. Rowling considered having Dramione as canon. She didn't use it because it would have been too much of a "twist." Anyways, this is how I hope the end of the series would have been if she had included Dramione!


AN: I was obsessively researching Dramione, because that's what I do when I ship something, and came across something. J.K. Rowling said that she thought about putting Hermione and Draco together, but in the end thought it would be too much of a twist. I think it would've been brilliant, showing that things had actually changed in society and that it would've showed that people were really getting over the prejudices that they fought so hard to remove. Instead Draco got stuck with some bint that no one has ever heard of, and Hermione got stuck with Ron. Ron isn't a bad character, but he is _not_ right for Hermione.

Sorry for the long rant, but I needed to get this off my chest. When I found this little tidbit of information, it made me feel the need to write about what should have been canon!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters, nor do I claim to.

* * *

The battle had finally ended. There were people everywhere; some were laughing, some were crying, and some were just shocked that they were _alive_. Older students were frantically searching the school for their younger siblings. Parents were screaming for their children. The school-turned-battlefield was in chaos.

One of the people searching for someone was none other than Draco Malfoy. No, he wasn't searching for any of his friends in the rubble. He knew all of them had left before the fighting had _really_ begun. Most people would be shocked if they knew that he wasn't searching for a pureblooded witch or wizard at all. Those same people, who were shocked at that revelation, would immediately drop dead if they knew that he was searching for a certain bushy-haired muggleborn Gryffindor.

* * *

_I've got to get out of here. I feel like I'm about to explode_. After seeing the mourning Weasley family crowded around Fred's body, a heavy feeling had settled into my chest. I stumbled out of the Great Hall and into the very courtyard where Voldemort had been slain, just hours before.

Slowly sliding down onto one of the few benches that hadn't been demolished by the giants, I wrapped my arms around myself tightly. The adrenaline had finally worn off, leaving me cold and nauseous, as visions of dead classmates swam before my eyes. I could feel the tears pricking behind my eyelids, moments before the sobbing began.

_Hermione! Get a grip on yourself! You don't see any of the Weasleys sobbing like this, and a member of that family has just _died!_ Calm down!_ Regardless of the internal battle going on in my head, my body continued the heavy sobbing.

My sobs echoed around the empty courtyard. After I had calmed down a bit, I looked around at the damaged courtyard and sighed. There were large chunks of masonry lying around everywhere, along with the occasional broken wand. _I can go ahead and begin cleaning things up; that should take my mind off of things._ I stood up from my bench and made it two steps before slipping on something and falling to the ground.

I rubbed my sore backside and looked behind me to see what I had slipped on. My face paled immediately as I saw an extremely familiar wand lying in the mud. _Draco! Oh Merlin! _I snatched the wand up immediately and sprinted back into the castle. _Where is he? How am I going to find him—maybe!_ I whipped my wand out in front of me. "_Expecto Patronum."_

I smiled at the ghostly otter that playfully swam in front of me. _Maybe I can tell it to give a message to Draco and follow it when it leaves! Patronuses always seem to be able to find the recipient of a message, so hopefully this will work!_ "Help me find Draco Malfoy!"

Immediately the otter turned around and swam up the stairs. We climbed staircases until I realized that we were around the Room of Requirement. _So we're on the fifth floor._ I heard my otter chatter happily before dissipating. _Why did it disappear?_ Before I could cast another patronus, I could hear footsteps further down the hallway.

All thoughts of my patronus disappeared as I heard Draco frantically call my name. "Granger!"

Tears formed in my eyes at the sight of him. His immaculately styled hair was mussed up and covered in soot. Draco's suit had been torn in some places and burned in others, and his skin had a light coating of dirt on it. His face, though covered in dirt, had broken into a smile. I ran towards him as fast as I could.

Draco snatched me up into his arms, holding me tightly. "Hermione." The way he whispered my name made my eyes water. I could feel more tears coming, so I just buried my head into the crook of his neck.

Draco's shoulders were slightly trembling against me, and when he spoke it became apparent that he was fighting tears. "Hermione. Hermione, I couldn't find you when everything was over, and everyone was crying around me. I—I thought that something had happened to you when I couldn't find you. You're okay?"

I drew back a bit to look at Draco and frowned at his bloodshot and tear-filled eyes. I reached a hand up to his cheek. "Draco, I'm fine. Nothing major happened to me. I just encountered a few bumps and burns. I'm fine, I promise. Are you okay? No life-threatening injuries?"

Draco shook his head before pulling me back towards him. _He's okay. _After a few seconds, he answered me in a rough voice. "I'm fine. Nothing bad." He let out a pitiful whimper. "Merlin, I'm so glad you're okay. Do _not _do that again."

I smiled sadly, before gasping. Draco's head snapped up towards me worriedly. I shook my head at him. "Sorry. I'm fine, but I just remembered something." I pulled his wand out of my back pocket and held it in between us. "Look what I found in the courtyard."

Draco's mouth had fallen open in surprise before pulling me to him even tighter. "Merlin. I love you. I really do." My heart fluttered at his words. _That's the first time he's ever told me that. _I felt him stiffen as his mind caught up with his mouth.

I saved him from embarrassment by pulling him into a searing kiss. When we had to stop for air, I leaned back and looked into his eyes. "I love you, too." I felt proud to know that I was possibly the only person in the world who had ever made Draco Malfoy smile that brilliantly. Relief was radiating from him.

After holding each other for a few more minutes, I pulled away from Draco. "We need to go downstairs; last I checked, your parents were tearing the place apart trying to find you."

I saw him wince at the mention of his parents, before replacing the look with one full of determination. "Hermione. I love you, you love me; we can_not _keep lying to everyone that matters to us. Let's tell everyone. Hopefully, they'll be too mentally drained to put up a fight." A large smile broke out across my face. I had wanted to tell people before the battle, but Draco had insisted that it _had _to be after.

My smile dampened when I thought about the Weasleys. "Draco. We'll tell your parents, but we should wait to tell the Weasleys." He was giving me a questioning look, and I cut him off before he could ask. "They're grieving. They don't need _this_ on top of that." He still looked confused but nodded anyway. _I guess he doesn't know that Fred has died._ _Merlin, that feels so weird to think._

We headed towards the stairs back at the end of the corridor. Before I stepped onto them, Draco pulled me into a crushing hug. "Hermione, I promise that whatever my parents say, I am _not _going to pick them over you. They get both of us, or neither. We're a package deal. You're stuck with me, now. I hope you realize that."

I smiled up at the blond boy who had stolen my heart. _Who would've thought that after years of tormenting me, we would end up like this? I guess there is some truth to little boys who pull little girls' hair, after all. _Standing up on my tiptoes, I kissed him lightly before dragging him towards the stairs.

* * *

Platform 9 ¾ was bustling with people. I tightened my grip on Draco's hand as he pulled us through the crowd and towards the red locomotive. Scorpius, our eldest, was leisurely walking behind us, with his younger sister, Lyra. This would be Lyra's first year, and Scorpius' fourth. To my chagrin, Scorpius had been sorted into Slytherin. _"He's a Malfoy, what did you expect?"_ I frowned when I thought of Draco's comment. _Hopefully Lyra will at be a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw._ _That'd shut the prat up._

Both of our children had inherited their father's hair and eyes, signifying their status as Malfoys. Scorpius was almost completely a copy of Draco, down to his personality. Lyra had inherited my curious nature, and shyness. I smirked when I saw Scorpius' eyes linger on Ron's daughter, Rose, before a light blush dusted his face. _That's interesting. I can't wait to tell Draco that we'll probably be related, by blood, to the Weasleys. _

I watched with a smile as Scorpius towed Lyra expertly out of the way of the crowd. I wasn't too worried about Lyra going to Hogwarts as long as Scorpius would be there with her. I turned back towards Draco and followed his signature blond hair through the crowd, while the children followed behind me. Finally we reached a mostly clear place where we could all speak before sending Scorpius and Lyra on the way with their friends.

I was the first to make a move. "I can't believe you're both going to be gone until Christmas!" I gathered them both into a tight hug, ignoring Scorpius' struggling and Lyra's giggling. I pulled back and looked at both of them. "Promise me that you'll both write; especially you, Lyra! I can't wait to find out what house you'll be in! You know—"

I was cutoff by Draco. "Darling, she'll be in Slytherin. She's a Malfoy; Malfoy's are Slytherins."

I stared at Draco's smug face in amusement. _Oh, how I love to ruin his dreams._ I put on a sugary sweet smile. "Draco, dear, have you forgotten that I'm a Malfoy? Last I checked, I was most definitely _not _a Slytherin."

His smirk turned into a frown. "You just can't let me have my fun, can you?"

Lyra giggled at his theatrics. "Daddy, you'd be lost without mum here to ruin your fun."

Draco immediately smiled, as he always did when Lyra called him "daddy." "Daddy" had been her first word, much to his happiness. With the way that Lucius and Narcissa had spoiled their grandchildren, we were surprised that their first words weren't "grandpa" or "nana."

Before Draco could reply, Scorpius made a gagging noise. "How sweet, and unwanted. Can we please hurry up? I'd like to get on the train before it leaves."

I tried to keep a smile from forming at his impatient tone, but eventually gave up. _He's definitely Draco's son. _I faked a sad sigh. "I try so hard, but my own son doesn't have time for me to even tell him goodbye."

Scorpius' expression softened. I internally smirked. "Fine. I love you, mum." He slightly turned towards Draco. "You too, dad." Draco clapped him on the shoulder, and then I gave him a tight hug.

Lyra nervously stared at the three of us. _She has the same worried look that I did before I left for Hogwarts the first time._ "Lyra, sweetheart, come here." When she got close, I pulled her into a tight hug. "Sweetie, everything is going to be fine. You'll make friends quickly once you get sorted into your house; you may even make some on the train ride there." I felt her stiffen up at the mention of houses. _So that's what's wrong._

I pushed Lyra back a bit so I could look into her silver eyes. "Lyra, I want you to know that, whatever house you get put into, your father and I will be so proud of you." I hugged her tightly.

Before I could say anything else, Draco spoke. "She's right, you know. We don't care what house you get sorted into, regardless of what we may say. Just don't be a Hufflepuff." I smacked Draco at that last comment and smiled at Lyra's giggles. The young girl flung herself into her father's arms, which gave her a tight hug and a kiss on her head. I smiled at the heartwarming sight.

Finally, Lyra broke away from us and headed towards Scorpius who had resumed making gagging noises. The four of us headed towards the Weasleys and Potters after our private goodbyes. Draco still wasn't very comfortable with them, as he probably never would be, but still tolerated them for the children and I.

I went through the two families hugging and kissing, before finally ending with Ginny and Harry. Ginny and Harry had married a few years after the war ended. Both had been ready to marry the moment the war ended, but wanted to grow up a bit before diving into a marriage. The couple had raised Teddy Lupin as their own, and had three other children of their own: James, Albus, and Lily.

Ron had, surprisingly, married Pansy Parkinson. Both of them had explosive tempers, and were massive fans of the Chudley Canons. _A match made in Heaven, really. _Draco had immediately gravitated towards Pansy when we arrived, as I was busy catching up. Pansy and Ron had two children: Rose and Hugo.

Draco came back to me as we all watched the children talking with each other. I could see that Scorpius was doing his best to make Rose laugh, which was going terribly. I giggled at the sight of my son embarrassing himself and nudged Draco. "Look at your son."

Draco reddened slightly. "He must've gotten those pitiful skills from you, Hermione. That's almost painful to watch."

I giggled, but had to agree. I blushed every time I remembered walking in on Draco in the Prefects' Bathroom in fifth year. Draco hadn't let me forget my stuttered apologies and straying eyes, even now. I looked for Lyra and found her and Albus in an animated conversation. _Good. She'll sit with him on the train most likely._

It was time for them to board the train. Draco and I both gave hugs to Scorpius and Lyra before sending them off. After I lost sight of Lyra's back as she boarded the train, my eyes watered. I turned into Draco's chest and let him rub my back as I reigned myself in. I could hear him murmuring comforting words into my hair and held him tighter.

I finally got my tears under control and stepped out of his arms to stand beside him. Moments later, the train began to move towards the wonderful school that started everything for me. We followed the train with our eyes until it was nothing more than a black speck in the distance. Finally, I took Draco's hand and led him out of the station.

He had a confused expression on his face. "Why are you leaving so willingly? I figured that I would have to drag you away."

I turned around and gave him a sly smile. "Well, the Manor is empty. It's just going to be you and me at home. Wouldn't want to let such an opportunity go to waste, now would we?"

Draco flushed slightly before smirking and leading the way back home.

* * *

AN: I hope this wasn't too cheesy/badly written. I always feel like my stuff is badly written after I finish it. I hope this is decent enough!

I just hate the real epilogue, so I wanted to do my own version. This is kind of like my way of rebelling against it, I guess? Here's some more info about this that I didn't write into this one-shot.

Lucius and Narcissa, but mainly Lucius, were against the idea of Draco and Hermione at the first. Draco gave them an ultimatum, and they relented.

Draco's parents moved out of the Manor when Draco and Hermione got married. I'll let you decide where they went!

Pansy and Ron. Honestly, I just stuck them together because I could. No real reasoning behind it. Lol.

I think that this epilogue may have been super cheesy and bad. Sorry! I'm not that good at writing perfect and happy.

Anyways, _**FAVORITE**_and _**REVIEW!**_


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